Sunday, April 2, 2017

Lacrosse to Begin 2017 Big South Slate at Presbyterian, Saturday

Liberty women's lacrosse will kick off its 2017 Big South schedule at
Presbyterian on Saturday afternoon. Game time is set for noon at Martin
Stadium at Edens Field in Clinton, S.C.

The Lady Flames are
5-3 in the all-time series with the Blue Hose. Liberty defeated
Presbyterian, 21-6, on Senior Day (April 23, 2016), last year in
Lynchburg.

Liberty will start its 2017 Big South schedule at Presbyterian, Saturday.

How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live stats for the contest will be available on the lacrosse schedule/results panel. Also, be sure to follow @LUGameday on Twitter for live in-game updates from Old Bailey Stadium.

Back Half of Road Trip
The Lady Flames (1-9) are in the second half of a six-game road trip.
Following Saturday's game versus Presbyterian (1-7), Liberty will wrap
up its road trip with a Big South game at Longwood on Wednesday in
Farmville, Va.

Liberty's next home game will be on April 8,
when the Lady Flames take on Big South opponent Campbell at noon at the
Liberty Lacrosse Field. The Lady Flames' last home contest was back on
March 4 against Old Dominion.

2017 Big South Outlook
Liberty was selected to finish fourth in the Big South Conference
women's lacrosse preseason poll, as voted on by the league's head
coaches back in late January.

Sophomores Kayla Foster
and Brianna McCaffrey were both named to the Big South preseason
all-conference team. In 10 non-conference games, both Foster and
McCaffrey are off to solid starts. Foster leads the team with 23 points
(11 g, 12 a, 23 pts), while McCaffrey is the team's top goal scorer (16)
and is second on the team in points with 21.

As
a team, Liberty is No. 19 in the country in ground balls per game
(21.00) and No. 19 in the country in caused turnovers per game (11.40).
The Lady Flames are third and first in the Big South in the two
categories, respectively.

The Lady Flames' 12-goal effort at
VCU last Saturday was their second-highest scoring output of 2017.
Liberty scored a season-best 16 goals at Butler, Feb. 12.

Brianna
McCaffrey leads Liberty in goals (16), draw controls (36) and shots
(50). She is also No. 52 in the nation in free position percentage
(.500).

Sophomore attacker Kayla Foster
leads the team with 23 points (11 g, 12 a). Foster had 51 points (22 g,
29 a) as a freshman in 2016 on her way to being named the Big South
Freshman of the Year.

Through nine games, Liberty is slightly trailing its opponents in ground balls (226-210). Liberty senior defender Victoria Tickle paces the team with 31 ground balls and is 36th in the country in ground balls per game (3.10).

Liberty's freshmen have accounted for 27 of the 73 goals scored by the Lady Flames. Hannah Quast in tops for Liberty freshmen with nine goals, followed by Grace Fletcher (7), Jenna Joyal (5), Carly White (4) and Nikki Stumpf (2).

Liberty is first in the Big South in woman-down goals per game (.20) and third in woman-up goals per game (.60).

Liberty's opponents have outshot the Lady Flames, 311-212

The
Lady Flames are losing the battle for draw controls, 135-111, through
ten games. Last Saturday at VCU, Liberty possessed a 21-13 advantage in
draw controls over the Rams.

Scouting Presbyterian
Presbyterian's lone win of the year came at home against Butler, 12-5,
on March 10. The Blue Hose's senior defender Maura Talvacchia is No. 1
in the country in caused turnovers per game (3.88). Talvacchia also
ranks No. 4 in the nation in ground balls per game (4.25). PC is No. 8
in ground balls per game (22.88) and No. 20 in caused turnovers per game
(11.00).
Presbyterian is led offensively by senior midfielder
Alexandra Cole (9 g, 8 a, 17 pts) and junior midfielder/attacker Lauren
Schaaf (13 g, 2 a, 15 pts). Freshman Kayla Koch (1-7, 16.83 GAA, 67 SV)
has seen the majority of time in goal for the Blue Hose and third-year
head coach Bob Dachille.

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About Me

Hello, I'm Bill Smith.
I'm currently the Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant at Liberty University. I am the primary media contact for Liberty field hockey, lacrosse, and men's and women's tennis. I am also working towards my master's in sport management and plan on completing it by May of 2018.